Fluffed Up
by TheObscureFluffs
Summary: [sequel to 'Second Visit'] Sonic had never avoided Knuckles before. He'd always been very open with his feelings and never afraid to tell him what's up. So, when Knuckles finds that Sonic's 'conveniently' busy every night, he's determined to figure out why. (AU, Main!Sonic X Boom!Knuckles)


It'd been the time of Knuckles' life after he and Sonic had gotten together. Even though they came from different worlds, they still loved each other endlessly and teleported over to each other's worlds whenever they had some free time.

Lately though, Knuckles began to notice that Sonic had been acting strange. It started one night when he had teleported over to Sonic's world. Tails stopped him, saying that Sonic was unfortunately busy and that he'd have to come back another time. At first, the echidna thought nothing of it, but it happened repeatedly whenever he returned for the night. During the morning, everything was fine and Sonic acted as if nothing was wrong, simply apologizing for 'not being available', but Knuckles had his doubts.

One night, he came back again. Like usual, Tails walked in front of him before he could walk out to look for Sonic. "Sorry, Knuckles. Sonic's busy again tonight. There was, um... an Eggman mission he had to take care of," he said.

Knuckles raised a brow. "He's been 'busy' _every_ night that I've tried to visit. Is something up?"

"No!" Tails replied, holding his hands up defensively. "He just doesn't want you to see him-I-I mean-!"

"Doesn't want me to see him?" Knuckles looked hurt by this. "But... why? Did I do something?"

Tails gave a sigh, putting a hand to his head, knowing that he'd messed up. "No no... that's not it at all. You don't understand..." he muttered.

"No, I _don't_ understand," Knuckles replied, "and that's why I'm asking: what's going on?"

He sighed. "Please, Tails... I'm just worried."

Tails frowned, his ears drooping down. "I... can't tell you. H-he's not hurt or anything though, don't worry."

Knuckles wasn't satisfied, however. "Where is he?"

"I-I don't know," Tails admitted, seeming completely honest this time. "And even if I _did_ , he gave me specific orders not to-"

Suddenly, a loud scream was heard from far away. It sounded like Sonic, yet not entirely.

Tails gritted his teeth as he turned towards the direction of the sound. "Eggman's at it again..." he mumbled.

Before Tails could tell him not to, Knuckles ran outside and headed in the direction of the sound.

When he finally reached the spot, he stopped to catch his breath.

"S-Sonic?"

Sonic didn't seem to hear him, looking to be too busy struggling with what seemed to be one of Eggman's robots.

That wasn't the odd thing though. Sonic looked different. _Much_ different.

His build was closer to that of Knuckles, his arms much thicker and bulkier. His skin was light blue, his muzzle slightly longer and claws extending from the tips of his fingers, which lacked his usual gloves. Midnight blue fur covered his body, even going to his arms, which usually lacked it. His stomach, the tips of his quills, and his wrists were furred white. His mouth was stretched across the entirety of his muzzle, a fang protruding out on each end.

His eyes though... they hadn't changed in the slightest. Knuckles could tell that it was undoubtedly Sonic.

The 'hedgehog' squirmed and wrestled with the bot as best as he could, though his form was sloppy and he clearly wasn't using his strength effectively; he was going to get taken down in no time at that rate. Even then, there was a clear deep gash on his right arm, which was bleeding fairly badly.

Knuckles immediately rushed to Sonic's aid, punching the robot and smashing it to pieces.

"Stay back!" he warned the rest of the bots, prepared to fight more of them if he had to.

The robots gazed at Knuckles for a moment, then the antenna on their head blinked red. They turned, quickly rushing off.

Sonic grunted, holding the cut on his arm and gazing up at his boyfriend nervously. "T-thanks, uh... pal," he muttered, as if hoping that Knuckles wouldn't recognize him.

"You okay, Sonic?" Knuckles asked, concerned about his boyfriend's injuries. He wondered why Sonic looked so... different, all of the sudden, but that question would have to wait until he was sure his boyfriend was safe.

Sonic's ears perked at his name, and he then sighed, moving his hand away from his arm. "Just a little blood. Nothin' I can't handle..." he said.

He paused, then looked up at Knuckles sheepishly. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Knuckles replied. He glanced at the cut on Sonic's arm, frowning. He reached into his hammerspace for a moment, then pulled out a roll of bandages.

"Here..."

He wrapped the bandages around Sonic's wound until it was properly covered.

"Did you get hurt anywhere else?" he asked, hoping Sonic would be honest about it. He knew Sonic didn't like to worry him, but he wanted to make sure everything was alright.

Sonic shook his head, avoiding eye contact with the echidna. "Nah. I hadn't been fightin' for too long, so I didn't get hurt too badly 'sides my arm," he replied.

"You sure?" Knuckles replied, raising a brow.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure. That yell ya heard from me earlier was the robot slashin' me." He lightly rubbed where the bandages were. "You came really early, so I hadn't been fighting' it for long."

Knuckles silently breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, um..." He hesitated. "What...what happened to you?"

Sonic's ears drooped; he knew that question was coming. He sighed. "This happened before actually. Eggman was tryin' to unleash this huge monster and some of its energy went into me. Luckily, I saved the world and got it outta my body, but I guess Egghead managed to stash some away somewhere. He managed to get it back into me during one of our fights." He gestured to himself. "So now I end up like this every night..."

"Ohhh." Knuckles gazed at him curiously. "So... kinda like a werewolf or something?"

Sonic nodded sadly. "Kinda. I called it 'werehog' back then." He couldn't tell if he was happy to see Knuckles or not.

Knuckles giggled a little. "'Werehog', huh? I like that."

Sonic raised a brow at the giggle. "Uh... so, you aren't weirded out by this or anything?" he asked. "I mean, didn't expect ya to be scared, but..."

"'Weirded out'?" Knuckles seemed a little surprised. "I think it's kinda cool!"

"C-cool?" Sonic repeated to confirm, staring down at his claws. "That's not what a lot of people would say..."

"Well, that's what _I_ say!" Knuckles replied. "Though... you looked like you were having some trouble..."

Sonic blushed in embarrassment. "Y-yeah... it's been a long time since I've been a werehog," he said. "So I have to get used to being so slow and having a lot more strength."

"Hmmm..." Knuckles put a hand to his chin and thought, then lit up. "I know! I could help you learn to fight!"

"Huh, y'mean it?" Sonic asked. "I, uh... don't wanna slash ya by accident though," he added worriedly.

"I've been through worse," Knuckles replied, laughing sheepishly. "Don't worry about it!"

Sonic paused, gazing down at the ground, then slowly reached up and held Knuckles' hand. "Thanks, Knux," he muttered softly, a light blush on his muzzle. He looked as though he was about to smile, but suddenly brought it back to a neutral frown.

"Everything okay?" Knuckles asked. _Why won't he smile?_

"Oh! Uh, nothin'," Sonic said, waving his hands in front of his face. "Sorry." He nervously placed a hand behind his head. "I try not to smile when I'm like this; it freaks people out 'cause of all the fangs."

"You have fangs too?" Knuckles was suddenly very interested. "Oooh, I wanna see!"

Sonic grimaced slightly. "Well, besides the two y'see right here..." He pointed to the single tooth to each side of his muzzle. "all of my other teeth changed too."

He hesitated, then gave Knuckles a nervous grin, revealing all of his fangs to him.

Knuckles stared in fascination. "Wow... cool!"

Sonic blinked at his boyfriend, surprised by his reaction once again.

After a small silence though, he started to chuckle. "Man, I've been so dumb..."

"Huh?" Knuckles tilted his head. "What do you mean? You're not dumb!"

Sonic shook his head. "I've been hidin' this form from ya for this long 'cause I was worried about what you'd think," he admitted. "The big muscle-y look works for you, but it's really ugly on me," he said. "I should've given you more credit though..."

" _Ugly?_ " Knuckles was shocked. "You don't look ugly to me! You're all cool looking, and, um..." He blushed sheepishly. "...fluffy."

Sonic blushed at the comment, then laughed and wrapped his arms around Knuckles, pulling him into an embrace. "Heh, how fluffy?" he joked, encouraging Knuckles to hug him back.

"Mm... very!" Knuckles returned the hug, grinning. It was true, Sonic in this form was very soft and warm, and Knuckles quite enjoyed it.

Sonic giggled, enjoying the hug as well. Feeling a bit mischievous though, he grinned and hugged Knuckles a little tighter, wanting to test his strength against him.

Knuckles squeezed him back gently, nuzzling him and taking in the warmth of his fur. He was giggling too.

Sonic cherished the hug. He'd missed all of Knuckles' affection while he was in his werehog form. Now, he was taking full advantage of it.

"...Guess we should probably save the kisses for regular me though, huh?" He released Knuckles and pointed to his muzzle. "Dunno how awkward it'd be like this."

Knuckles chuckled lightly. "Well, we could try at least... if you want to, I mean."

"Well, of course I'd want to!" Sonic blurted out. He blushed slightly, then chuckled. "Don't wanna mess it up though, y'know?"

"It's okay," Knuckles assured him with a soft smile. "I'm still kinda getting the hang of kissing," he added sheepishly.

Sonic smiled back at him, then pulled him down to his level. Their height gap had been closed a bit from his transformation, so he was at least a little grateful for it.

He kissed Knuckles gently, hoping he'd still do well in his werehog form.

Knuckles kissed him back, blushing lightly. Even though it was admittedly a little awkward with Sonic's fangs, he still enjoyed every moment of it.

Sonic was relieved that kiss wasn't too odd for him; he and Knuckles kissed pretty much whenever they could find a good excuse to (and sometimes even they couldn't), so he would've missed it too much if any night-kisses were forbidden.

He pulled away slightly, then grinned wide at his boyfriend, clearly happy over the contact.

Then, almost involuntarily, he stuck his tongue out and licked Knuckles' lips, though blushing red as he realized that he'd done so. "O-oh! Uh... sorry..." he muttered sheepishly, mentally cursing his werehog instincts.

Knuckles blinked. Then he giggled. "What was that about?"

"Uhhh, well..." Sonic seemed embarrassed to say it, "my transformation makes me a little more, ur... animal-ish, I guess?" He hoped he explained it well enough.

To make his point clearer, he got down on all fours and dashed away, then dashed right back to Knuckles.

"Ohhh." Knuckles grinned. He bent down a little and began playfully petting Sonic on the head like he would a puppy.

"A-ah, hey-" Sonic stopped talking as a rumbling noise of appreciation came from his throat. He blushed, embarrassed that he was making such a sound.

"Oh, you like that, hm?" Knuckles grinned.

Sonic hesitated on the question, then reluctantly nodded, enjoying the affection. It felt somewhat strange for him to be the flustered one instead of Knuckles.

Knuckles smiled, enjoying the softness of Sonic's fur, as well as the werehog's flustered state.

Eventually, despite not wanting to, Sonic pushed Knuckles' hand away. "D-don't we have some training to get to?" he asked.

"Oh, right!" Knuckles replied. "You wanna train here, or is there a better place we can go?"

"We can train right here," Sonic replied. He stepped back a few feet, then got into a ready position.

The training began, and the two went at it. Knuckles was a good teacher despite how 'dumb' people said he was, and Sonic paid close attention to everything he said. The two had a similar body type, so it made sense for Knuckles' fighting style to work for Sonic. Sonic even got back into his old werehog groove and remembered some of his old techniques, which he displayed masterfully.

However, Sonic's endurance wasn't as good with how heavy he felt, and he and Knuckles soon sat down against a tree, exhausted.

"Ah... t-thanks for... your help..." he said in between breaths.

"No problem!" Knuckles replied. He couldn't help but snuggle up to Sonic.

"You're so warm..." he mumbled, blushing.

Sonic laughed happily, wrapping his arms around Knuckles and pulling him even closer. "That's one big advantage to this form," he said softly. "Heh, you'll never be cold again on my watch," he joked.

Knuckles giggled, snuggling even more into Sonic's fur. The warmth was making his eyes droop.

Sonic noticed. "Tired?" he asked. "We could head back to my place and get some sleep."

"That sounds good," Knuckles replied with a small yawn.

Sonic grinned, then got up and lifted Knuckles into his arms. He'd done it before in his normal form, but now it was even easier. "I'll take ya," he said, turning and heading down the pathway towards their home.

Knuckles buried his face into Sonic's fur, smiling as he began to slowly doze off.

Sonic brought his boyfriend home, then went into their bedroom and laid him down, promptly crawling next to him. He struggled to get into a comfortable position, as the bed certainly hadn't been built for two large mobians, then slowly drifted off.

Knuckles meanwhile slept soundly throughout most of the night; at least, until sunrise.

There was a shift in the bed, as if someone had gotten off, then a sudden shriek of pain.

Knuckles was immediately jolted awake. "S-Sonic?"

Sonic was hunched over by the door, his body shaking and each individual strand of his fur standing on end. He panted, eventually getting down on all fours as a dark purple aura surrounded him.

His body was slowly returning back to its original form, but he looked to be in extreme pain, nearly screaming as his upper body shrunk back to its normal size; it felt like there was an intense pressure pushing down on him, and that his body was being compacted.

Knuckles immediately rushed to his side, kneeling down beside him. He wanted to help, do something to ease Sonic's pain, but he was forced to just sit and watch helplessly.

Sonic grunted as his muzzle shortened, his fingers grinding against the carpet. His could feel each one of his teeth shape and conform back to their original state, and every second was absolute agony.

Thankfully, the transformation ended, and the now-hedgehog panted and groaned before collapsing to the carpet, clearly worn out by the experience.

Knuckles carefully scooped him up and cradled his body, holding him close to his chest.

"It's okay, you're okay now..." he soothed.

Sonic blushed, gazing up at him with small tears in his eyes from the lingering pain. "T-thanks. Sorry you had to see that," he said. "I tried to get out, but..."

"It's okay," Knuckles replied. He frowned worriedly. "Does it always hurt when you change forms?"

Sonic nodded, leaning into Knuckles' chest. "It didn't hurt when the planet was breakin' apart, but Tails said somethin' about how Dark Gaia being dormant makes it more painful... or something like that." He sighed sadly. "I always end up sore for at least an hour after it happens..." He tried to shift positions, but grunted and gave up, proving his point.

"Sounds like that was one crazy adventure," Knuckles replied with a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"Here." He carried Sonic back over to the bed and gently set him down, then sat next to him.

"Take it easy." He smiled softly.

"Ah, hey..." Sonic pouted, slowly reaching out and grabbing Knuckles' hand. "I didn't ask ya to let me go."

Knuckles chuckled lightly. He lifted Sonic into his lap and cradled him again, nuzzling him gently.

"That better?" He winked.

Sonic nodded. "Mhm. Don't feel as sore with you around," he replied softly.

Knuckles blushed lightly. It seemed that they were back to him being the flustered one once more.

"Heh, what would I do without you around, eh?" Sonic asked, nuzzling into Knuckles' fur. "I'd be a super-sad hedgehog."

"Me too," Knuckles replied. "Well, I'd be a super-sad echidna, not a super-sad hedgehog, but you know..."

Sonic chuckled. "Oh yeah?" he asked. "Prove it." He winked, as if taunting Knuckles to kiss him.

Knuckles tilted his head. "Prove it how?" he asked.

Sonic rolled his eyes, amused at Knuckles' obliviousness, then pointed to his lips.

Knuckles was still puzzled for a moment, but then he figured it out.

"Ohh."

He leaned in and kissed Sonic on the lips. No matter how many times they did this, it still always made his face flush.

Sonic's face never flushed quite as much unless Knuckles dove in for a surprise kiss, but he was still blushing nonetheless. He kissed back, savoring the kiss and thanking the lack of his werehog teeth; not that it wasn't nice then, but he was much more comfortable this way.

After a while, Knuckles pulled away so he could catch his breath.

"Does...does that prove it?" he asked with a grin.

Sonic lightly kissed his cheek and smiled. "I think so."

He relaxed back against Knuckles, then frowned. "So... are ya hungry? I should probably go make breakfast..."

"You sure you're feeling up to it?" Knuckles asked. "You really should take it easy until you're feeling better."

Sonic frowned. He attempted to get up, but his limbs still felt extremely sore. "Augh. Maybe we should just wait or something then..."

"I...I could try to make something," Knuckles offered. He knew he wasn't a very good cook, but he didn't want to have Sonic do it in his current state.

"What? Aw, Knuckles." Sonic blushed slightly at the offer, but shook his head. "You don't have to do that."

"Let me do it," Knuckles insisted. "What would you like?"

Sonic shrugged sheepishly. "Pancakes? I dunno," he replied.

He gripped Knuckles' shoulders lightly. "Take me with you. I can show you what to do at least."

Knuckles nodded. He stood up, still carrying Sonic in his arms, and headed into the kitchen.

"Pancake mix is in there," Sonic told him, weakly pointing up to one of the cupboards.

Knuckles nodded again, opening the cupboard.

"Wait, which one is it?" he asked sheepishly, suddenly remembering that he couldn't read Mobian.

"That one," Sonic replied, pointing to a bag that had a picture of a stack of pancakes on it.

"Thanks." Knuckles reached up and grabbed it.

He did his best to follow Sonic's instructions, and after a little while, the pancakes were ready.

Sonic picked up one of the pancakes in his ungloved hand, then bit into it. "Mm, not bad," he said. "First try at makin' pancakes?" he asked. They weren't the best he'd ever had, but he knew how much love Knuckles had put into them.

"Yep," Knuckles replied proudly. "How'd I do?"

"See for yourself," Sonic told him, smiling and holding his pancake up to Knuckles' mouth, almost as an 'indirect kiss'.

Knuckles, not really getting the point, took a bite out of the pancake. "Hmm, tastes okay I guess."

Sonic took another bite. "Come on. I really like it," he said. "I think it's cool that you wanted to cook for me."

Knuckles blushed lightly. "Aw, it was nothin'," he replied. "I just wanted to help you out."

"Well aren't you sweet?" Sonic said with a grin, giving Knuckles a quick kiss to show his appreciation, quickly going back to eating his pancake.

Knuckles blushed even further. He too began to eat his pancakes. They weren't all that great in his opinion, but he was still quite proud of himself.

Once Sonic was finished with his pancakes, he slowly got down from Knuckles' hold, staggering at first before managing a stand, albeit a weak one.

"You feeling okay?" Knuckles asked, still concerned.

"T-think so," Sonic replied, leaning on Knuckles slightly. "Heh, can't have you carryin' me all the time." He blushed somewhat at the thought.

"You sure?" Knuckles wasn't completely convinced.

Sonic nodded, determined to convince Knuckles. He took a step forward, his lean on Knuckles gone, but his leg quickly buckled and he fell to the floor. "N-ngh..."

Knuckles immediately knelt down beside him. "Hey, you alright?"

Sonic sighed, clearly trying to stay optimistic but failing. "Sorry..." He pushed himself up into a weak sitting position. "I just hate this."

"It's okay," Knuckles replied. "Just take it easy. Wanna go back to bed?"

Sonic shook his head and smiled. "No way. If you're up, I wanna be up with you!" he exclaimed. "I don't wanna leave your side for one Sonic second whenever you come to my world."

Knuckles smiled back, blushing. "W-well... we could... c-cuddle or something?"

Sonic shared his blush. "Heh, don't have to ask me twice."

He reached an arm out to Knuckles, hoping to be picked up and promptly cuddled.

Knuckles picked him up and held him close. He nuzzled him, smiling widely.

Sonic nuzzled him back. "Heh, I think I like my hedgehog height better. Your hugs are ten times better that way," he said.

Knuckles giggled, blushing again. "You're just so huggable no matter what size you are!"

Sonic laughed, flustered at Knuckles' words. "Heh, I should use that to my advantage sometime!" he exclaimed. "If Egghead ever tries to do somethin' bad, I'll just tempt his by holdin' my arms out. He won't be able to resist!" he joked.

Knuckles laughed. "That would make things easier."

"Bleh, dunno if it's worth it though," Sonic said with a shrug, hugging Knuckles affectionately. "Only you're allowed to hug me, heh."

Knuckles blushed once again. "That makes me feel special," he replied, smiling warmly.

"Good." Sonic smiled, leaning over and lightly kissing Knuckles' cheek. "I love you."

Knuckles blushed even further. "I love you too." He kissed Sonic's cheek in return.

Sonic relaxed against him, savoring the warmth of Knuckles' fur. "Can we stay like this 'ntil I'm better?" he asked. "We could watch a movie or something."

"Sure!" Knuckles replied. "Sounds good to me."

As Knuckles brought him to the living room, Sonic helped him pick out a movie and turn the TV on. Afterwards, they did just what they planned to; lights off, Knuckles on the couch, and Sonic being cuddled by him.

"Just like our first date, huh?" Sonic asked softly, smiling at the memory.

Knuckles smiled too. "Yeah. Feels like it wasn't even that long ago..."

Sonic nodded in agreement. "Definitely. I couldn't focus on the movie back then though." He smirked. "I was too busy wantin' to do this."

He held onto Knuckles' shoulders for support, then leaned up to the echidna's face and kissed him, which was quickly followed by a kissed on the cheek, a kiss on the forehead, and other small kisses pretty much all over Knuckles' face.

Knuckles blushed the entire time, giggling as he received the affection.

Sonic then pulled away, pleased to have made Knuckles flustered; his boyfriend certainly deserved to feel loved, so he always made it his mission to help him feel that way.

He cuddled back into Knuckles' chest, then focused on the movie.

Knuckles wrapped his arms around him and smiled. He was glad that he was able to help Sonic feel better. Still tired from this morning, even though he tried not to, Sonic snuggled against Knuckles and slowly fell asleep halfway through the movie. Knuckles was feeling so relaxed like this that he too soon found himself drifting off, his muzzle resting against Sonic's head.

A few hours later, well after the movie was over, Sonic stirred, quickly realizing that he'd fallen asleep. He looked up, seeing that Knuckles had fallen asleep too, then chuckled, pressing his lips against his for a wake-up kiss.

Knuckles' eyes fluttered open. He blushed lightly and smiled. "How ya feeling?"

Sonic smiled back. "Much better," he replied happily. "And thanks. Heh, I usually end up collapsed wherever I am for about an hour once the transformation hits," he added sheepishly.

Knuckles frowned sadly. "So you have to go through that everyday?"

Sonic averted his gaze, nodding sadly.

Knuckles hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry," was all he could think of to say.

"Not your fault," Sonic muttered softly. He smiled in hopes of reassuring his boyfriend. "Besides, you make this whole situation way better just by bein' around me. I wish I'd told ya earlier," he said.

Knuckles blushed again. "Glad I could help!"

Sonic nodded happily, then got down from Knuckles' hold and placed his hands on his hips. "Now, if you'll excuse me-" He lightly booped Knuckles' nose. "I'm gonna go make us lunch."

He sped out to the kitchen, his soreness having dissipated.

Knuckles smiled, happy that Sonic was feeling better. "Need any help?" he called.

"Nah, I'm alright!"

He sped out into Knuckles' view, juggling a pack of hot dogs and a bag of buns. "See?"

"'Kay, just checking!" Knuckles replied.

Sonic went back into the kitchen. After he was done cooking, he went back out, carrying a tray of chili dogs on one hand. For a moment, it seem like that was all he'd brought for them to eat, but a hand behind his back came around to show Knuckles a tray of various grape-flavored desserts.

"Surprise!" he exclaimed. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone that ya had sweets for lunch."

Knuckles' face immediately lit up. "A-are those for me?"

Sonic grinned. "Yup! All of 'em!"

He set the tray down on the table, then picked up a chili dog. "Cream's been teachin' me how to make a bunch of different stuff with grapes, and I wanted to make a bunch for the next time I saw ya."

Knuckles grinned. "I love you!" he blurted out. He blushed a little when he realized what he'd said, but he didn't take it back in the slightest.

Sonic blushed at the suddenness of Knuckles' words, but smiled anyway and winked at him. "I love you too!"

Knuckles happily ate up the treats. They tasted great on their own, but the love that was clearly put into them made them that much sweeter.

Once there was only one treat left, Sonic watched as Knuckles placed it in his mouth. He set his chili dog down, then smirked. "Hold up. I want a taste too; y'know, to make sure I got it right."

He leaned up to Knuckles, opening his mouth and biting the part of the treat that remained outside of the echidna's mouth, allowing their lips to meet in the middle.

Knuckles' face flushed at this, nearly causing him to choke.

Sonic pulled away, letting out a small laugh and promptly licking his lips. "Not bad. You tasted a lot sweeter though!" he teased.

Knuckles blushed even further. He swallowed his mouthful, then giggled lightly. "S-stop it..."

Sonic just grinned, picking up his remaining chili dog and biting into it, leaning against the couch slyly. He was clearly amused by how flustered he'd made Knuckles.

Knuckles leaned against the couch, crossing his legs as he relaxed.

"So...whacha wanna do today?" he asked.

"Mm... I dunno," Sonic replied, turning his head to look out the window. "Just gotta remember t'watch out for sunset." He grimaced at the thought.

Knuckles frowned sadly. "And then... you'll have to go through all of that again?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah..."

Knuckles wrapped his arms around him in a hug. "I'll make sure you aren't alone when it happens," he promised.

Sonic smiled, hugging him back gently. "Thanks. Just... don't be too close when it does," he said. "I don't wanna end up scratching ya."

Knuckles nodded. "I'll try not to be."

He nuzzled Sonic a bit. "There has to be a way to make not hurt as much..."

"Don't worry about it," Sonic said, not wanting to make Knuckles be too concerned about him. He stared down at his ungloved hands, then shrugged. "You probably noticed that I haven't been wearing my gloves for a while. My werehog transformation totally rips 'em apart, so I just started leavin' 'em off."

"I didn't really notice," Knuckles admitted. "I guess I was too busy worrying," he added with a sheepish smile.

"Oh you," Sonic said with a chuckle. He reached up, lightly placing his hands on Knuckles' cheeks. "It's not all bad, heh. Easier to feel ya this way."

Knuckles blushed for what must've been the 50th time that day. He leaned over and lightly touched Sonic's nose to his, smiling playfully.

Sonic smiled back, then perked up as he got an idea. "Hey, think your friends back in your world would be surprised to see the other me?"

"Probably," Knuckles replied. "You don't come over that much. It's usually me visiting you, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Sonic said, having only just now realized it. "I really should visit ya more often." He frowned, looking apologetic.

"It's okay," Knuckles replied with a smile. "It doesn't matter where we are as long as we're together," he added with a wink, hoping to make Sonic flustered this time.

It worked, Sonic's face flushing with a light red. Her averted his gaze from Knuckles and tried to frown, but couldn't help smiling. "T-that's so cheesy." _Not like I'm one to talk though._

"Not as cheesy as _your_ lines!" Knuckles chuckled lightly.

Sonic faked a pout. "Ahhh, but that's my _job_ ," he joked. "'Sides, it's only cute when _you_ get all flustered." He giggled. "Red just doesn't go well with my skin."

"Oh yeah?" Knuckles grinned. "I think it looks very nice on you."

Sonic laughed, playfully pushing Knuckles away from him. "Yeah, right!" he said with a smile and a bit of sarcasm.

Knuckles laughed too. "So, what should we do now?" he asked.

"We could do our usual explorin'?" Sonic suggested. "There's a few flower gardens I still haven't shown ya yet." He smiled weakly. "We just gotta be back here before sunset."

"Sounds good to me!" Knuckles replied.

Sonic got off the couch, then held his arms out, ready to carry Knuckles. "Cool! Now c'mere, ya big lovable echidna you!" he teased.

Knuckles giggled. He got up and went over to Sonic, ready to go.

Sonic picked Knuckles up and sped out. It was harder than it'd be in his werehog form, but he still managed pretty easily.

He took Knuckles to any place he could think of. It was only a few hours until sunset, so he kept a watchful eye out; the _last_ thing he wanted was for the both of them to end up stranded somewhere because he transformed and lost his speed.

When the time was right, he brought Knuckles back to his house (though he'd call it 'their' house just as much if you asked), setting him down and backing away. He stared outside cautiously, then stiffened, the same purple aura surrounding him again. "N-ngh..."

"Is it starting?" Knuckles asked, frowning worriedly.

Sonic opened his mouth to respond, but ending up wincing and pain as he crouched over. His fur slowly changed color, his arms fluffing up with them. His ears flicked, changing as well once his claws appeared.

He groaned, his ears able to hear every single bone stretch and adjust to his werehog form.

He fell to the floor in a heap once the transformation was finally completed.

Knuckles knelt down next to Sonic and began cradling his head in his arms. He hated not being able to do anything to ease Sonic's pain.

Sonic let out a soft sound to show that he was content in Knuckles' grasp. "T-thanks..."

Knuckles nodded. "Anything I can do for you?"

Sonic let out a soft 'hm', resting down on Knuckles' lap. "Not sure..." He actually wanted to be pet again, but he wouldn't admit that.

"I'll just stay here and help you feel better then," Knuckles replied. He gently stroked Sonic's fur, hoping it might soothe him a little.

Sonic's ears perked at the stroking. He let out another low rumbling of appreciation from his throat, but blushed, slightly embarrassed by it. Knuckles smiled softly, finding Sonic's reaction rather cute.

Sonic relaxed, easing himself into Knuckles' touch. He _really_ hoped that the echidna wouldn't notice his tail wagging.

Knuckles, however, _did_ notice. He giggled softly, thinking that it was adorable.

Sonic blushed at the giggle. "H-hey, what's so funny?" he asked softly.

"Nothing, you're just really cute." Knuckles blushed when he realized what he'd said.

Sonic's blush reddened. "O-oh."

He hid his face behind his thick arms slightly. "J-just lay off the ears, okay?" he asked, his ears flittering up and down.

"Why?" Knuckles asked in confusion.

Sonic averted his gaze. "N-no reason," he replied shyly.

Knuckles raised a brow, then smirked. "So you don't want me to do... _this?_ " He began to lightly scratch behind Sonic's ears.

Sonic stiffened, his fur standing on end as he blushed redder. He shuddered, the rumbling from his throat getting louder. "M-mmrrr..." He clearly enjoyed the feeling.

Knuckles grinned playfully. "Aha, I found your weak spot!"

He scratched a little harder, giggling at the almost purr-like sound that Sonic was making.

"A-ah, Knuckllles!" Sonic said, trying to sound whiny but laughing a bit as he treasured the feeling of Knuckles' hands against his ears.

Knuckles giggled victoriously, turning his scratching to an affectionate rubbing.

Sonic squeaked slightly at the rubbing, embarrassed but still enjoying it. "R-rrmm... I love ya, y'know that?" he mumbled through his fits of giggles.

"I love ya too," Knuckles replied with a huge grin.

The rubbing and scratching continued until Sonic's soreness had worn down, at which point he finally mustered up the strength to pull away from Knuckles, sitting down next to him, his face flushed red.

"Eheh... t-thanks for that," he muttered, his voice quiet.

"No prob," Knuckles replied. "Feeling better?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. All the soreness died down by now."

He paused, then grunted and rubbed his throat. "I'll never get used to how I sound like this."

"Do you want to do some training?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic grinned. "Yeah, and then maybe we could take a visit to your world and surprise your friends," he replied.

Knuckles grinned back. "Sounds good to me!"

The two then got back to their training. Sonic was a little more ready for Knuckles and had a few more moves on hand, but it was still playful sparring and nothing more.

Afterwards, they teleported over to Knuckles' universe, with Sonic exiting Tails' lab and looking around for the echidna's friends.

"They'd probably be at the beach, right?" he asked.

Knuckles nodded. "Yeah, that's kinda always been our hang-out spot."

Sonic followed him to the beach, then raised a hand as he saw Knuckles' four friends hanging out together. "Hey, guys!"

The four turned their heads, and Amy sat up, looking clearly surprised at the familiar voice. "S-Sonic?"

Sonic grinned sheepishly. "Surpriiiise?"

His dimensional counterpart nearly dropped the book he was reading in shocked. "What happened to you?"

"Long story," he replied simply.

"He turns into this every night," Knuckles explained.

"Interesting..." Tails mused. "I'll have to talk to my other self about that."

Sticks surprisingly seemed okay despite Sonic's appearance.

The bandana-wearing Sonic, meanwhile, sped up to his werehog counterpart. "Geez, y'haven't cut your fur in a few years, or what?"

He got a toothy grin in response. "You're just mad because I'm taller than you now."

The once-taller Sonic's mouth dropped as the fact was given to him. He checked just to be sure, confirming it. "No way!"

Knuckles laughed. "What, you jealous that you can't be as fluffy and huggable?"

"No!" he retorted.

Amy just giggled, then rushed up to them. "Aww, I still think you two look really cute together!" she exclaimed. "You both have the same kinda body type now!"

The werehog sheepishly scratched his cheek, blushing at the compliment. "H-heh, I guess you're right!"

Knuckles grinned, putting an arm around his boyfriend.

Amy smiled wide at the sight. "Can I take a picture? Pleaaase?"

Her boyfriend waved his hands in front of his face to show his disapproval. "Amy, not the camera again!"

"As long as that's okay with my boyfriend," Knuckles replied with a wink.

The much-fluffier Sonic nudged the echidna in response. "Why wouldn't it be?" he asked with a grin.

After Amy took the picture, her boyfriend shook his head and turned away, clearly still not used to the sight of his counterpart's relationship. "Alright, great. Now I'm going to bed."

He walked away, and Amy followed with a playful giggle. "Is there room on that hammock for two?"

He blushed in response as they walked off together. " _A-Amy!_ "

The werehog Sonic chuckled at them, then placed his hand over Knuckles'. "You tired too?" he asked, though knowing that his counterpart was likely just going to bed to get away from him, which he didn't mind.

Knuckles yawned. "Yeah," he replied, glancing up at the sky. "Gee, is it that late already?"

"We were training for a while," Sonic reminded him. "Guess we got so caught up in it that we lost track of time."

He watched as Tails and Sticks headed off, then placed his hands behind his head. "You don't have a house, so where do ya usually end up sleepin'?" he asked.

"By my lifting equipment," Knuckles admitted. "I like to look at the stars while I fall asleep," he added with a smile. "That's the nice thing about sleeping outside."

Sonic nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've done that a few times. It's really nice to just gaze up at the stars."

"Wanna look at the stars together?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic chuckled. "Do ya really have to ask?"

He walked with Knuckles to the echidna's training equipment, then sat down and held an arm out for him. Knuckles sat down next to him and put an arm around him. Sonic relaxed against him, his clawed hand against his boyfriend's waist.

"...Hey, Knux?" he suddenly asked, gazing up at him. "This whole 'swapping dimensions back-and-forth' thing; you gonna do that forever y'think?"

"I...I dunno," Knuckles replied. "I never really thought about that."

Sonic shrugged. "I figured." He tightened his grip on Knuckles's waist, then chuckled. "Sorry. I guess we shouldn't worry too much about it now, just... h-heh, I kinda miss ya when you're here for days on end," he admitted with a blush. "I can always come over here myself, but I figure that y'need time with your friends too."

"It's okay," Knuckles replied. "I always miss you too."

Sonic flushed a bit more at that. "Heh, thanks."

He cuddled against him. "Y'know... my place is practically yours too."

"R-really?" Knuckles blushed a little.

"Mhm," Sonic mumbled, his face buried into Knuckles' fur. "If you ever wanted to move in a little more permanently, you don't even need t'ask. It's _our_ home."

Knuckles smiled. "Thanks, Sonic."

Sonic nodded. "Don't worry though; I'd never make ya move in." His expression fell slightly, but he didn't want to seem selfish to his boyfriend. "I know you've got a lotta friends here and y'like this world a lot..."

"But I also really like your world, and being with you," Knuckles replied. "I guess I'm just gonna need time to think about it."

Sonic blushed lightly. "Hey, it's no problem. Take all the time y'need," he said.

He let out a soft breath, then slowly fell asleep against Knuckles.

Knuckles smiled. He kissed Sonic between the ears, then laid against him as he too drifted off.

Sonic managed to wake up in the early morning, being used to doing so as he knew what'd be coming once the sun rose. He groaned mildly at the steadily rising sun, then released Knuckles and got up, not wanting to be near him when he transformed.

He began to walk away, but miscalculated how long it'd take before the transformation started, feeling a sudden stinging in his chest. He grunted, even letting out a small yelp as he started to feel the purple aura around him again.

Knuckles was stirred from his sleep by the yelp. He saw Sonic and immediately rushed to his side.

However, Sonic didn't transform right away. He felt mild pain, but it wasn't terrible. Confused, he looked down, watching the purple aura slowly dissipate and pull away from his body. Steadily, his werehog traits vanished away, leaving him back to his hedgehog self. The energy left him completely, fading away right in front of him.

"H-huh?" Sonic was clearly confused, staring down at himself to confirm that he was a hedgehog again. "That was... the Dark Gaia energy. It just...?"

"Huh." Knuckles put a hand to his chin. "I wonder what happened..."

Sonic paused, trying to think, then snapped his fingers as his eyes went wide. "That's it!"

He turned to Knuckles. "I bet it's because you don't have a Dark Gaia in your world!" he said. "The one in my world might be dormant, but the energy still relied on him or somethin' to survive! With the big Gaia guy taken out, it couldn't hold my transformation! It's gone!"

He paused, letting the information sink in, then suddenly started to chuckle, eventually bursting into the glorious Sonic laughter that Knuckles loved so much.

Knuckles didn't entirely understand what had happened, but he knew that Sonic was finally free from all of the pain he'd suffered. Knuckles smiled, picking up Sonic and twirling him around as he joined in on his laughter.

Sonic giggled at the twirling, hugging Knuckles happily; his boyfriend's excitement had made him even more excited somehow.

Knuckles put Sonic down, grinning widely. "So... what should we do today?"

Sonic, still giddy, just laughed again and leapt at Knuckles, kissing him passionately. "Don't care. S'long as we're together," he said, determined to make up for all the time he avoided Knuckles as a werehog.


End file.
